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Original Message
"Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Estee on 09-27-10 at 08:37 AM
For notes on leg construction, task design, course layout, camera work, and the other elements which go into the actual assembly of the Race. It's sort of a behind-the-scenes GUFU with occasional positive notes. And given that last night was pretty much a front-of-the-scenery ninety-minute screwup, we might have to start looking a little deeper if we want to get anywhere at all.

Not that Production really distinguished itself either. In fact, this season, we've got to start with one major:

!Slap! Stop. The. Roadblock. Yes, it was funny watching a home shopping network host get a watermelon to the face. Sure, given the sheer amount of con artistry, ripoffs, and blatant lies she's handed out over the course of her job, she likely deserved it plus three more of increasing weight. But the fact remains: she could have died. More to the point, someone else could have died. Suffered severe facial injuries. Brain damage. Yes, there's a couple of people where that last would have been difficult to tell, but the potential was there. As soon as Production saw the very literal backlash potential in action, they should have killed the Roadblock on the spot -- before it killed someone. Not having done so is a megaslap, not to mention a wrongful death lawsuit waiting to happen. Oh, yeah -- and for that to happen, someone would have been dead.

Slap It's nice that we finally made it to Stonehenge. Now can we do something there other than pick up a clue and leave? No? Then consider it a waste of some really spectacular rocks.

Clap The one-two punch of left-side driving and stick shifts let us ID the unprepared early, along with helping to pick out a few of the extra-stupid. If you're applying to the Race and you haven't learned how to drive standard, please identify yourself with a cloud of smoke from your clutch --

Slap -- and if you've never spoken to your partner before the day you applied, then please don't claim they have a pre-existing relationship other than the genetic. That's not just stunt casting, that's a breakdown looking for a country to happen in. (There are other potential casting Slaps out there, but I'll stay with this one because it's a Production issue instead of one with Racer IQs.)

Clap/Slap A flight-divided field of teams should always have some hope of catching up for the back pack and of staying ahead for the leading one. But to give the first three out a half-hour advantage followed by sending them onto M25? False hope is funny. But in this case, it's also pointless: London traffic was going to take out anything under three hours, and we all knew it going in -- making the airport rush an extra-pointless waste of footage.

Clap "Have fun storming the castle!"

(mini) Slap I know it's too much to expect anyone in this group to say 'coracle'. I still expect you to.

On Hold The Express Pass. It's not too powerful at the outset (unless we get a seven-hour Roadblock or a Detour with two killer branches), it's one-time-only, and limiting it to the first eight legs helps -- but we won't know if this is a Clap or Slap until we see it in action.

Table of contents
Messages in this discussion
"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by jbug on 09-27-10 at 09:12 AM
Network slap
I know I know; I should be prepared....
I started my taping on time & knew they were getting a late start.
But then I started watching & forgot at 9 (CT) to start a recording of the next program.

So, while the idiot jerk guy was running all around the castle looking for the PS & the best friends were still trying to find the castle, I missed all that......
Caught the final comments from BF 1st team philiminated when my recording ended - & I realized what I had done.

No slap for me; it's all a network issue.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by DearAbby on 09-27-10 at 10:20 AM
Y'know, when I saw that CBS had scheduled 60 Minutes for 7:30, I figured TAR would start on time for once. Oh well! Blame Heidi.


Fallin' for agman

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by kidflash212 on 09-27-10 at 02:25 PM
Worse though is that the scheduled Colts/Broncos game ended before 7:30PM. But the powers that be at CBS decided it ended too much before 7:30PM so they went to coverage of the Seattle/San Diego game which did go past 7:30PM. I wonder if the Colts/Broncos had ended at 7:25PM would they still have gone to San Diego/Seattle.
"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by moonbaby on 09-27-10 at 10:32 AM
Claps: The boats. Pure comedy watching some teams sink time and again. I laughed out loud every time. Yes, I am that simple.

Also? Storming the castle. Wahaha! I fart in your general direction!

Slap for them, clap for her: I can't imagine the amount of pain it had to cause, it hurt seeing that watermelon hit that woman in the face. Showing it a few times in slow motion was insane. OUCH. There it is again. Make it stop!

I agree it should have been shut down after that (or helmets should have been provided, even then, it's still pretty scary). I'm so glad she was OK, I expected a bloody mess, a broken nose or cheekbone, whiplash, a concussion, missing teeth... the possibilites all very yucky. And she ran around after that? Geez. Good for her.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by featherfish81 on 09-27-10 at 12:38 PM
I agree, the boats were a great challenge. I liked that they were deceptive. It looked like it would be just a muscle your way along kind of challenge, but actually required balance and patience. And some teams didn't realize it.

Storming the castle also looked good, too. I would have loved to be one of the "peasants" - getting paid to yell at people and throw water on them? That could be fun.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Joools on 09-27-10 at 02:34 PM
getting paid to yell at people and throw water on them? That could be fun.

Heck, I would have done it for free. While I was at it I also would have told them that their mothers were hamsters and their fathers smelt of elderberries.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by PsychoKitty on 09-27-10 at 07:35 PM
I agree! That was one of the funnest tasks of all time! And I loved the close ups on the "actors" - god they must have been having a blast! And the little boats were a scream! They reminded me of Beatrix Potter or Wind in the Willows - didn't someone in those books use a boat made of a walnut shell? Or was that Stuart Little . . ? Anyhoo - what a scream! And too bad the BF were so far behind, because almost EVERYONE sunk in the boats repeatedly. And can you believe how STOOPID Nick and Vicki (?) are! OHMYGOD!!!! They take the cake. But he did have a beaming smile when they hit the mat! (Some redemption there.)


Not that I have an opinion one way or another ;)
Signature by tribephyl

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Starshine on 09-27-10 at 10:33 AM
Slap - I know that access to the stones is very restricted, but couldn't you have persuaded English Heritage to put the box in the middle of the henge?

Slap - Stick to the stereotypes, show the Brit with bad teeth actually...

Clap - Sending the teams past my flatlet

Slap - Contestants, if you are going to be driving BUY A MAP.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by jbug on 09-27-10 at 11:03 AM
I was so worried that one of the stoopid drivers who couldn't clutch would back into one of the stones & cause a domino style collapse! - aka European Vacation style! LOL

Did you see them from your window?

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Max Headroom on 09-27-10 at 11:29 AM
Clap - For making the teams drive themselves in Britain. Welcome to TAR: You get to operate a manual transmission left-handed, while driving on the opposite side of the road, first thing in the morning after a 6-hour overnight flight from the US.

Slap - Having teams drive Smart Cars in the beginning? I wonder how much product-placement money went into the TAR coffers from that decision?

Clap - Storming the castle was a fun choice, and the dirty water was a plus.

Clap - Loved the instant-sink boats. Like moonie, I cracked up each and every time one of those things sunk.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by kingfish on 09-27-10 at 12:13 PM
LAST EDITED ON 09-27-10 AT 12:20 PM (EST)

SLAP (If I carried the insurance). CLAP (As a viewer). Even though I knew it wasn't so (it just couldn't be), the watermelon looked like it took her head off. The red watermelon flesh exploding, and the head rocked back, what I saw looked like a neck stump.

Bitsh slap Never heard of Stonehenge????

I think there's another pile of rocks in her cranium.

Belly laugh The Black PhD. "We got to figure this out...There's and extra hundred pounds in my butt, we got to put it in the middle..."

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Molaholic on 09-27-10 at 01:22 PM
Slap! As others have said -- the watermelon to the head was too vicious & should have resulted in some kind of modification (and was medical called in? We never saw it...) Double slap for the repeated slo-mo views.

Clap Storming the Castle. One of the best challenges ever. I'm sure some of the peasants had to of been shouting "We fart in your general direction!", it just didn't get the camera time.

Clap the second. Boats.

and also ditto the comments on Stonehenge, driving on the wrong side of the road, 100-lbs butts, etc.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by kidflash212 on 09-27-10 at 02:10 PM
LAST EDITED ON 09-27-10 AT 02:44 PM (EST)

Slap - Opposite does not mean reverse the syllables in a word. Eastnor is no more the opposite of Noreaster than worknet is the opposite of network.


Capn2patch put me in motion!

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by kingfish on 09-27-10 at 03:41 PM

That one bothered me too, now that you mention it.

More appropriately the opposite of Eastnor would be WestSo.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by MaryKat on 09-27-10 at 07:28 PM
I think I agree with everybody.

Slap- I was really worried about the woman hit in the head with the watermelon. I was afraid she had a concussion.

Slap - The birth mother-daaughter team. I wish they had not been cast until they got to know each other better. I feel like I'm intruding when I watch them.

Clap -Storming the castle

Clap - turtle boats. I loved how some teams figured it out right away, but others had to watch other teams before they could figure it out.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Colonel Zoidberg on 09-28-10 at 01:20 PM
Not so much a slap as a solid right hook to the face...

Last time I checked, it's September 2010. TAR has introduced a million twists, churned through close to 200 teams, forged and ruined several relationships, given us a thousand great quotables, given us that many horrific quotes, cast one more interracial couple than we expected them to, and...

...shown us some of the most beautiful, most unique, most unreachable, most you-have-to-see-that-again moments and places in the world...

...and yet, they still haven't figured out that it's high time to switch to filming in HD yet.

"Ghana."
Posted by Estee on 10-04-10 at 08:39 AM
Clap The contrast between the opulence of the monument and the poverty of Pretty Much Everywhere Else was stark, constant, and had to be seen by American audiences. That most of them have already forgotten it stings -- but showing it was the right thing to do.

Slap I realize there's nothing you can do about the local traffic, but when you have multiple teams using their taxi time to give themselves last rites, you might have wanted to consider doing the entire leg on foot. I have to deal with NYC traffic and that was still disturbing. (But since no one was using the sidewalk, no bonus points.)

Slap Hello, Giant Bunch Point #1! A single flight? This early? I suppose you're just getting them used to the idea. Getting used to the execution will take a few more episodes.

Clap I think you just boosted the export of Ghanian coffins by about 2400%.

Slap Amazing how most of those freshly hooked-up TVs were showing the exact same image, wasn't it? (The homes get to keep them, right?)

No Hand Movement Production can't be expected to dictate the actions of the shoppers in the marketplace, and catching shoplifters should be the responsibility of the local police. ('I'm walking away with your stuff on camera!' Someone tackle that idiot, please?) So having them bombarded with teasers, liars, and thieves is called 'a day of working retail'. (On the other hand, any market crowd like that in any country in the world will be filled with pickpockets, and I'm just a little surprised no one hit the mat with an empty clue pack. When you're pushing through a tightly-packed group...)

"RE: Ghana."
Posted by Max Headroom on 10-04-10 at 08:55 AM
Clap Showing the daredevil driving of several cab drivers, along with comments from Racers like, "I'm just grateful I haven't soiled myself," spoken during harrowing cab rides. Perfectly captured the essence of driving in developing countries.

Clap For showing the Ghanian market in an unfiltered way. Yes, the place was chaotic, crowded, dirty, and smelly, and yes, there were shysters and petty criminals there. That's how the market really is.

Clap Those custom Ghanian coffins were a hoot. Though I'm not sure how much of a local custom they are, they made for an unusual and interesting detour choice.

Slap Selling items in markets in developing countries isn't a new concept, and I've never been a fan. 3 Ghanian cedi = $2.10 USD, which (I suspect) is a lot of money for the average marketgoer. Can't the producers find something for the teams to do in a local market that doesn't involve selling items to people who have little money?

"RE: Ghana."
Posted by Molaholic on 10-04-10 at 10:47 AM
LAST EDITED ON 10-04-10 AT 10:48 AM (EST)

Slap More time in England!! Why not a visit to Starshine's flatlette?

Slap Echo the aforementioned bunch point knock.

Clap Kustom Koffins!

Slap A selling road block -- and we've got professional hawksters ... gosh, wonder how that'll turn out.

Slap Why give the secret circle highlight to the pink safety glasses with no "oops, we screwed up" follow through?

Slap Ghana got a lot of press during the World Cup -- why no soccer-related task?

Slap Previews -- bunch of quitters, again.

wow -- guess it was a pretty poor episode.

"RE: Ghana."
Posted by Estee on 10-04-10 at 07:23 PM
Slap A selling road block -- and we've got professional hawksters ... gosh, wonder how that'll turn out.

The course is laid out before the teams are picked, so there is a chance someone said 'And if the home shopping hosts make it this far' before pulling the trigger. It's not as if this is the show's first time fighting in the sales arena, though -- and we can all think of teams perfectly suited to tasks they never reached.

"RE: Ghana."
Posted by Starshine on 10-04-10 at 03:02 PM
Slap - I hate selling tasks, always have suspect I always will

Slap - Go here do this, go there do that, now go to the pitstop <yawn>

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Max Headroom on 10-11-10 at 09:01 AM
Clap I never thought I'd be saying this, but I applaud this non-elimination leg. Past seasons had legs which stayed in the same location as the previous leg, with the lack of a bunch point and a group of sequential tasks making it extremely difficult for the later finishers to get back in the race. Despite Gary & Mallory making a big move in this particular episode, I never liked the same-place-two-legs scenario and was pleased by the non-elim.

Slap For having two legs in the same place. While I'm sure the production costs were very low in Ghana, the end result for viewers was a boring leg. Show us some new places, already!

Clap For having the teams stay an extra day to upgrade the local school.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by samboohoo on 10-11-10 at 09:07 AM
I'm actually going to clap this episode, and I'm probably the only one. I didn't thing it was boring at all. They seemed to do a lot and had trouble on the seemingly easy tasks. Shows what the stress of the race really can do to the competitors.


Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie


"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by featherfish81 on 10-13-10 at 09:37 PM
Yeah, I liked this episode, too. I thought the boxing part was boring (especially because it was just do this for a certain amount of time), but the rest was interesting, and amazing how they kept trying to find words without any clue.
"Ghana II"
Posted by Estee on 10-11-10 at 09:46 AM
Slap Oh, sure -- now you show us the Medical personnel. A watermelon to the face wasn't enough to bring them out on camera, but heat exhaustion does the trick? You must have needed them for filler footage after figuring out there wasn't enough drama in a slow-motion replay.

Clap The invisible clue box has been replaced by the equally-invisible clue wall. Honestly, this should be a casting-level Slap for having put in a group of people too stupid to walk around the perimeter of a building, but the comedy involved in watching them fail to understand the concept of 'around here somewhere, really close, as in 'right around the corner' gets you out of it -- once.

Slap Showing the groove in the rim was a mistake. Until it appeared, rolling the thing along felt like a quasi-mystical process. Seeing any part of how it was done took it down most of the notches.

Slap There was a lot of terror potential in the approach to the boxing roadblock -- are we going to fight? Are these guys going to be in the ring with us? -- which could have been played up with a little more work. No one did any.

Slap Weird placement for an NEL. Seriously weird.

Clap The interaction with the locals (particularly the kids) really worked in this episode, and giving out a little free labor for the community is -- well, it's a tiny fraction of what you could really do if you wanted to, but I suppose it's something.

Slap Those tasks were really the only things you could find to do in the entire country?

"RE: Ghana II"
Posted by kidflash212 on 10-12-10 at 05:53 AM
Slap There was a lot of terror potential in the approach to the boxing roadblock -- are we going to fight? Are these guys going to be in the ring with us? -- which could have been played up with a little more work. No one did any.

Did it seem like maybe they changed the Roadblock at the last minute? Step one - Tape your hands, Step Two - Hit the bag, Step Three - Jump rope??. Shouldn't the logical Step Three be to spar? Which could have been the highlight of the show, instead we got a bunch of simple tasks one after the other and the whole leg seemed to be missing something.

Slap Those tasks were really the only things you could
find to do in the entire country?

It would have been nicer if the Detour tasks somehow were incorporated into the work being done on the schools. Something like building desks or some other item that the school could actually use. That way we could have seen it rather than just hearing Phil tell us about it.


Capn2patch put me in motion!

"RE: Ghana II"
Posted by samboohoo on 10-12-10 at 08:46 AM
Agree about the boxing.

Regarding the schools. I too thought about that, but I also thought that if they made them tasks, the racers would be too sloppy, too impatient, etc., and I thought maybe it wouldn't be a good idea.


Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie


"RE: Ghana II"
Posted by Starshine on 10-12-10 at 11:06 AM
You think this NEL is weird

On TARA two out of the first three legs have been NEL!

"Sweden"
Posted by jbug on 10-18-10 at 12:50 PM
LAST EDITED ON 10-18-10 AT 12:52 PM (EST)

SLAP: Speed Bump? that was more like a short yield; a flat tire would have delayed them longer!!!

ETA:
CLAP: So glad the Dad (Michael?) on the father/son team got to have some fun with the sled dogs. Other tasks have taken their toll on him; it was good that this one was fun for him.

CLAP: For father/son immediately choosing the tent building. Altho the son seemed to want to have fun on the sleds, he realized it could be hard on his dad.

"RE: Sweden"
Posted by qwertypie on 10-18-10 at 12:55 PM
LAST EDITED ON 10-18-10 AT 12:56 PM (EST)

Totally agree.
SLAP -- you are going to the arctic circle and you are wearing shorts!?! You are worse than my kids.

"RE: Sweden"
Posted by Estee on 10-18-10 at 02:46 PM
*!SLAP!* Do you have any idea of what a Speed Bump should be? Are you ever going to figure it out? Can we tie you to an ice block until you come up with something we approve of?

Slap We're going that far north and we're going to do in the summer? 'The ice hotel is in storage? That means there's less chance of getting a sighting! And not running the dog course on snow improves our odds of someone spotting the motorized vehicle everyone's riding on!'

Slap When you kept promoting this episode as TAR Goes Arctic, I'm betting most people didn't say 'Hey, we're going to Sweden!' I suspect the majority thought we were heading a lot farther north -- which means the disappointment promptly went south.

Clap Good designs on the Detour and Roadblock this time around, including making the flag-missing penalty an on-site one. (Minor in-Roadblock Slap for not realizing the shorter Racers would be in trouble, but the task was otherwise solid.) And after the England near-disaster, the helmets which accompanied the sleds were a welcome sight, as was the safety netting around the edges of the route -- not that the later helped certain people, but at least you tried...

Slap How long is a Pit Stop break? Seriously: right now, we've got no clue as to how long the Racers are resting. Could be twelve hours. Could be eight. Could be forty. Could be anything but obvious and on-screen.

Clap Follow that sled! (Well, at least the camera managed it.)

Clap More than one completion checker at a task which needed a verifier? Good. We frequently don't see that in action and having it on camera let us know one team wasn't being held up just so another could be released.

No hand movement Okay, did the clue say to take the ice/plastic block, or were some teams just playing the in-case-of-stupidity card?


"RE: Sweden"
Posted by Cyndimaus on 10-18-10 at 07:26 PM
Well, it was a clue and teams have been penalized in the past for not bringing the clue with them. (either a time penalty or having to go back and get it) I was thinking they were supossed to bring them since there were multiple clues provided instead of just one.


sig courtesy of Cygnus

"RE: Sweden"
Posted by CTgirl on 10-18-10 at 08:50 PM
I thought they took it because they needed someone to translate the directions on it into English.

"RE: Sweden"
Posted by Molaholic on 10-18-10 at 08:51 PM
SLAP - Ditto the aforementioned "Let's go to the Arctic! in summer" slaps.

CLAP - The old "give them tickets but don't mention the better flight option" gambit. Glad to see teams actually figured it out.

SLAP - Carry the Ice Block clue well explained, Cyndimaus.

almost CLAP - Well, we nearly learned something about the Ghana school house project.


Seana, mistress of siggies 2010

"Norway."
Posted by Estee on 10-25-10 at 12:34 PM
Slap While the view was gorgeous, this isn't the first 'go way up. Collect clue. Go way down' stop we've had over the seasons. Unless they're doing something at the peak, all you're providing is episode filler. I like the scenery, but I like it more when the teams are involved with it for more than twelve seconds.

Clap No bunch points? Again? Gee, this 'actually having to race' thing is interesting to watch. Pity it won't become a habit.

Slap Boring Roadblock and Detour -- both legs. We've already had fun with ascenders, thank you: watching arms shorting out was done too recently for it to feel fresh. As for the other task, 'Ride a boat and carry stuff' could only pale in comparison to 'ride a bike and memorize a four-digit code'. And still didn't. Admittedly, you did cast Vicki in the hopes of getting someone who'd get the code wrong, but even that failed.

Slap Since we're still in the Arctic Circle, this still applies: it's still summer.

Clap Teams subject to the infinite pains of driving themselves is more entertaining than the transcendent agony of taxis -- especially since the teams are easier for others to spot behind the wheel.

No hand movement Ultimately, that particular gross food challenge broke down to 'Here, have some lamb.' Gordon would have torpedoed the presentation, but I'm guessing most of the meat would have gone down fairly well for non-vegetarians. Think harder.

"RE: Norway."
Posted by kidflash212 on 10-25-10 at 01:14 PM
My personal Clap - the earlier flight from Ghana turned out to be a major game changer. No way Kevin & Michael survive the past two legs without it and Nat & Kat and Gary & Mallory have been leading the teams because of it.
"RE: Norway."
Posted by Molaholic on 10-25-10 at 01:35 PM
Slap - "The Fast Forward is taken? What does that mean?" DID YOU EVER WATCH THE SHOW???
Secondary slap for even trying the FF when you're team number 5 to the box --- sheeesh!

Slap - Gross food challenge. I heard the clue to say "both contestants must eat their goat head." But you let them share -- meaning the vegetarian only had to eat a few bits.
OK, the Docs using the FF meant I scored big in the casino, but still, rulz is rulz.

Clap - Christmas theme (well, almost) then having a Norwegian Santa at the Pit Stop Mat. Kewl.

Slap - The Philbrow "you're team number two" was just too skeery.

Clap - It wasn't a needless NEL!

~~~BTS Siggie goes here~~~

"RE: Norway."
Posted by kidflash212 on 10-25-10 at 01:54 PM
I find it kind of interesting to think that if the vegetarian had been unable to eat the lamb, Nick & Vicki could have blundered their way to a first place finish.

A Clap for a Fast Forward that could have been competitive if another team closer behind had tried to get it. A Slap to the production team because it is their fault for having so many "first come, first rewarded" Fast Forwards in the past that other teams didn't even bother to try for it.

"A Question."
Posted by Georjanna on 10-27-10 at 01:07 AM
Is a time penalty available for a Fast Forward? In other words, could Nat and Kat have elected to just sit the task out (for an hour, two hours, whatever) and then - assuming that no other team finished the delicacy before the penalty expired - collected their ticket to the pitstop?

G

"RE: A Question."
Posted by kidflash212 on 10-27-10 at 08:39 AM
I don't think so, since they have the choice to go to the other tasks.
"One person's Slap"
Posted by moonbaby on 10-26-10 at 01:38 PM
Slap - The Philbrow "you're team number two" was just too skeery.
is another one's Clap! Can't see enough of the famous brow!

"RE: One person's Slap"
Posted by olathejoe on 10-28-10 at 11:11 AM
clap/slap: as an avid mountain biker, I was thrilled to see them on a task on the previews. But they really lamed it up though. Ride up a hill then back down? It didn't even appear the distance was challenging.
"Oct 31"
Posted by jbug on 11-01-10 at 12:28 PM
Production SLAP:
Having the teams leave the PS at 8:30 pm knowing the train wouldn't depart till 10:30 the next morning.....
Why not send them on a few wild goose chases for some clues to use up some of that time?
"RE: Oct 31"
Posted by Starshine on 11-01-10 at 03:30 PM
Slap - Let TARA show you how to make teams use up time

Clap - Two great difficult tasks

Clap - Adored the Babushkas (who would have thought my spell checker would recognise that!)

Clap - Nice scenery

Slap - Not enough Katie and Rachel

"RE: Oct 31"
Posted by jbug on 11-01-10 at 04:13 PM
The potatoes:
not giving a slap cause who knows how they do things in Russia, but...
when we always planted potatoes, we cut them up into pieces, as long as there was an eye on each piece it would sprout.
We never planted whole potatoes.
"RE: Oct 31"
Posted by Estee on 11-01-10 at 04:37 PM
Would you trust this group Stephanie with sharp objects?
"RE: Oct 31"
Posted by kidflash212 on 11-01-10 at 06:42 PM
Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I really didn't need to find out that potatoes are grown packed in cow poo.
"for the record..."
Posted by jbug on 11-02-10 at 09:36 AM
LAST EDITED ON 11-02-10 AT 09:38 AM (EST)

We never planted out potatoes in cow poo.
n.e.v.e.r.

I'm sure the poo provided 2 necessary components for growing potatoes:
they need fertilizer of course,
and potatoes need soft earth to expand & grow.

You don't have to use the poo, but the soil does need to be plowed deep and needs to be loose before planting.

"Russia"
Posted by Estee on 11-01-10 at 04:45 PM
Slap So it's come to this: no departure times beyond the first plus pretty much no mention of funds for the leg. This sort of information helps, y'know. If you're short on time, just flash it on the screen as a grouped table. We'll read fast.

Slap How many bunch points do you need to reach one city? Apparently the answer is 'lots'.

Clap We call that a Helltour. No easy branch. Luck can play a part in one of them -- but given the search area, it's a haystack problem with film stock skin cuts. The longer you do either one, the harder they feel. Switching provides no relief whatsoever. Switching back and forth makes it feel like you're moving between circles. For the contestants, it's torture. For production, it's a great piece of work.

Clap The Roadblock wasn't bad either. (How did everyone keep running into the same dog?)

Clap A scenic city got a decent amount of camera time -- but could have had more. Shorter sock sniffing scenes?

"RE: Russia"
Posted by Molaholic on 11-01-10 at 11:16 PM
Clap -- Ditto on the Babushka task. (Could have taken an evil turn by having instructions or signage in Russian)

Slap -- The whole train/sock sniffing/some dufus snoring magilla.

Clap -- Natives! Drunk Natives! ("Где водка?!")

Slap -- Contrary to some other claps -- we really didn't anything new in St. Petersburg -- just some flash-bys of previous task spots (like the statue of Peter the Great).

Slap -- Ditto the aforementioned lack of departure times & finances. EPBvM is getting lazy.

"RE: Russia"
Posted by Seana on 11-02-10 at 12:41 PM
*Loved* the babushkas. They were so enthusiastic and cute. Fantastic.


"Russia II."
Posted by Estee on 11-08-10 at 11:25 AM
!SLAP! So effectively, you want the viewers to believe that the new penalty for coming in last on an NEL is -- nothing!

Clap Two Helltours in a row? How many searchers are we about to encounter after this run of schadenfreude luck? Some of the teams probably approached the Pit Stop expecting to hear a fourth section of the tune...

Slap So how we get three starting times and ignore everyone else. Plus we got a leg where multiple teams were having money troubles and we've missed hearing how much they've been getting a few times now. There's information we need as viewers, and you're not giving it to us.

(very belated) Clap HD cameras, huh?

Clap It's kind of like lawn darts, only with taking out the chance of impaling and replacing it with decent odds for multiple broken bones? I await the first 'But I saw it done on CBS and thought it was safe!' lawsuit with curiosity.

Clap It's still a beautiful city and I appreciate getting to see more of it.

Slap Does the contestant application require any -- reading?

"RE: Russia II."
Posted by Max Headroom on 11-08-10 at 11:50 AM
Slap No explanation of why Nick/Vicki didn't appear to do a Speed Bump.

Clap For specifying that teams must walk to a nearby site without taxi guidance. I like watching The Amazing Race, not Which Team Got the Bad Taxi Driver This Time.

Slap Didn't like the circus tasks, nor did I understand the relevance of a seedy circus to a historic city like St. Petersburg.

Slap Hours of Operation bunching will always earn a slap from me. I can understand it if teams arrive at a task in the middle of the night, but this was particularly bad since the teams left the pit stop mid-morning and it was a local trip.

"RE: Russia II."
Posted by featherfish81 on 11-08-10 at 07:22 PM
I'm not sure which deserves the bigger slap - not mentioning the speed bump so there is apparently no penalty for last place or creating such a bad speed bump that it wasn't even worth showing. As someone else pointed out, the bar wasn't exactly high.

Clap for making the teams pay off their cab before they check in. Maybe this isn't a new rule and I missed it before, but I like it.

"RE: Russia II."
Posted by kidflash212 on 11-08-10 at 07:59 PM
LAST EDITED ON 11-08-10 AT 08:51 PM (EST)

Not a new rule - I recall Uchenna & Joyce being unable to check in (on the final leg) before they paid their cab driver. Happened to Dandrew, too.

There is some confusion about the Speed Bump - There is talk that in the previous piano challenge Nick & Vicki had the correct answer before they switched tasks but the judge screwed up. They would likely have not come in last so to be fair they didn't have to complete a speed bump. At least that is what I have been reading online. Speed bump or not, I don't think the outcome would have changed - Michael & Kevin were already behind and received a one hour penalty, a ten to fifteen minute Speed Bump for Nick & Vicki would not have saved them.

ETA: I wonder if this story is true, did the judge get any of the other teams wrong too? It might explain the strange bunching - get all the teams even again.


Capn2patch put me in motion!

"RE: Russia II."
Posted by BrassFan on 11-09-10 at 02:07 PM
>ETA: I wonder if this story
>is true, did the judge
>get any of the other
>teams wrong too? It might
>explain the strange bunching -
>get all the teams even
>again.

Based on the official word that production difficulties cost mutiple teams time, I'm thinking that you might be right...

"RE: Russia II."
Posted by moonbaby on 11-08-10 at 09:05 PM
Clap: the return of the shame rattle!!! Unless I haven't been paying attention much, which is possible *insert shame rattle noise here*

"Oman."
Posted by Estee on 11-15-10 at 01:05 PM
LAST EDITED ON 11-15-10 AT 03:58 PM (EST)

Clap And thank you very much for not going back to Dubai again. (Could the locals have been any friendlier?)

Slap Seriously, at some point during Detour design, does anyone look at the second option and say 'You know, no one's ever going to take this. Maybe we'd better put something else in.'

Slap Double-bunch! Because you've somehow decided we're under quota! (Sleeping through your exit time really should have more consequences than 'first place'.)

Slap On the one hand, I'm glad you didn't pull out an Hours Of Operation sign for the souk and force the teams who arrived after closing to wait until morning for their clue. But realistically, it's a lot easier to find the two shops you're after when they're the only two places in the entire building which aren't closed.

Slap Luck-based search task. Any questions?

Clap For not only putting the cluebox in an area surrounded by semi-wild mountain goats, but not penalizing any team which had a goat eat their clue.

"RE: Oman."
Posted by Molaholic on 11-15-10 at 03:24 PM
Slap - The folks at the graphics dept were asleep. Everyone was told that the flights to Muscat had to go through Amsterdam, but the graphic clearly showed a straight-line from St. Petersberg.

Slap - Phoney snoring? Really?

Slap - Ditto the above Detour Design and Luck-based search task slaps.

Clap - Wait -- was there really something worthy of a clap?


~~~Siggie goes here~~~

Pre-Slap the first - Bangladesh? -- OK, so it isn't New Dehli, but really...

Pre-Slap the second - Double U-Turn??

"RE: Oman."
Posted by jbug on 11-15-10 at 05:04 PM
Slap: Production - You made it look like the teams got their clue immediately after turning on the water pump at the delivery house; but then it looked like they immediately climbed back into the truck to return.

Didn't it take awhile to empty the water truck?
Didn't any teams express frustration at how long it was taking?

"RE: Oman."
Posted by Starshine on 11-16-10 at 08:15 AM
Nicki and Vicki you are penalised for letting a goat eat half your clue.

Clap - Seeing a fair amount of Oman, I don't know much about the Middle East and I enjoyed it.

Clap - I like driving legs, and even if my top two teams couldn't navigate I still enjoyed the challenge.

Slap - Showing Chads proposal, seriously people better left on the cutting room floor.

"Bangladesh"
Posted by Estee on 11-22-10 at 11:22 AM
No Hand Movement So now it's two teams knocked into a race for last place instead of one being auto-eliminated. You could argue for this being an improvement -- but we need more time and a larger sample size before calling it one. Given that the team order never actually changed...

Slap The most densely populated area on the planet? The camera work didn't make it feel any more crowded than the urban portions of Ghana. If you wanted the pressure of bodies to really come across, you should have picked different filming areas -- and the wide-open space of the Pit Stop counts as a location mistake. I didn't finish the episode with any kind of feel for the area -- pure Production failure.

Slap *future* Does anyone else detect the unsubtle scent of a Giant Bunch Point on the very near horizon?

Slap There was no real sense of time or distance covered in either Detour branch -- crucial when you're dealing with a U-Turn. How long is this taking? How far back are they dropping? We had no idea until the two affected teams hit the rickshaws, and even then it was a rough gauge at best. In fact, time was a little crazy for the whole episode. Sunset already? Nightfall? Last call? Does anyone really know what time it is? And how long is a Pit Stop again, exactly?

No Hand Movement Just curious: did the clue say anything about bricks having to be intact? Because from the way Racers were dumping them off, I'm not sure they knew it.

"RE: Bangladesh"
Posted by BrassFan on 11-22-10 at 11:32 AM
>No Hand Movement Just curious:
> did the clue say
>anything about bricks having to
>be intact? Because from
>the way Racers were dumping
>them off, I'm not sure
>they knew it.


I assume that the clue said they had to deliver 100 unbroken bricks, and that the teams simply tossed the broken ones aside. It would have been nice to see at least one team acknowledge that, though.

"RE: Bangladesh"
Posted by Estee on 11-22-10 at 11:37 AM
If they knew what they were up against, it makes their behavior all the weirder.

'I know the bricks have to be intact': set basket down carefully, unpack bricks one by one in order to prevent collisions and cracked, check count and move on.

'I don't care': El Dumpo.

"RE: Bangladesh"
Posted by olathejoe on 11-22-10 at 11:56 AM
Bricks are heavy. Some bricks are somewhat fragile, but those were pavers (solid), which are pretty strong and difficult to break. They are also the heaviest. And they were worn out from doing the other tasks, so I can understand them dropping them instead of setting them down lightly. In my younger days I worked some as a hod carrier (laborer) on some fireplace jobs. That was the worst, because the later in the day it got, the higher up the bricklayers were, which meant you to hoist their supplies (mud and bricks) higher and higher as the day went by. So I can relate to the team struggle with what appeared to be a fairly simple task.

my slap for this epp: A team gets a 7 hour advatage by getting an earlier flight. It ruined the race for first, and it makes it obvious there is a major bunch point coming up.

"RE: Bangladesh"
Posted by Starshine on 11-22-10 at 11:47 AM
clap A new country

slap A little more information on the country would be nice

clap The double U turn, in the past a U turn has often meant elimination, the double leaves us with a race to the line

Agree with Estee, it would be very good to see some times

"RE: Bangladesh"
Posted by Molaholic on 11-22-10 at 01:17 PM
Clap though very gentle - limited number of shots of beggars & other signs of the horrific poverty in Bangladesh.

Slap - Yes, with a seven-hour jump and no bunch point (yet) a basically ho-hum ep.

Clap - Yes, with a seven-hour jump and no bunch point (yet) the non-NEL aspect was unexpected.

"RE: Bangladesh"
Posted by realworld10 on 11-22-10 at 06:23 PM
Clap - Brooke and Claire taking the U-Turn in stride and just doing it.

Slap - Chad for trying to get into the head of the doctors - that yelling was pure unsportsmanlike

Clap - Thomas and Jill - slowly, methodically getting it done - their stick to it attitude got them ahead - not a Blizzard - but far ahead of the pack

Slap - I love Vickie (not so crazy about Nick) - but the "this smells like poo*" about someone else's food is not nice

"Swoop Block"
Posted by kidflash212 on 11-22-10 at 06:29 PM



Capn2patch put me in motion!

"Hong Kong"
Posted by Estee on 11-29-10 at 09:42 AM
Slap For playing cat & mouse with Racer health during the Roadblock. How long did you think that was going to take?
Sure, we'll just have them standing around for hours sampling pieces of room-temperature sushi and shellfish that was sitting around for most of the day before they got there. No way that could ever go wrong. One Racer vomiting might be just them, but two might be just you -- and given the risks involved here, the illness may have continued well into the night and beyond.

Clap/Slap If you're going to do an all-night-long leg, one of the best places in the world to do it is Hong Kong. Having this leg run into the wee hours worked for you -- so why didn't you plan out the whole thing that way? Given that a Pit Stop is currently any duration you feel like making it, you would have had no problems getting all the teams onto a flight that arrived after sunset. That was, if it wasn't for...

Slap ...the in-by-ferry-out-by-ferry clue box. What was the point? Killing a few hours in transit just to say you'd killed a few hours in transit?

Slap Two needle-in-a-haystack Detour branches. Arguably, the parakeet delivery was the only one with a luck factor and the sign search was probably easier than Smug & Smugger made it look -- but there should have more variation available.

No Hand Movement It's hard to get the city's flavor across in less than an hour: you arguably did the best you could (with some pretty poor choices).

Clap Now if only there was a way to force every team to say 'Dingding'.

Slap That was not the time for an NEL. If you can put one in for an emergency when teams are getting hurt by outside factors, then you can take one out on the occasion of a giant jerk begging to go home. Give him what he wants. He's just going to keep whining until he gets it anyway, and that's taking up too much episode already.

Optionally, let Vicki race by herself.

"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by jbug on 11-29-10 at 11:31 AM
I agree - let Vicki continue on alone. I haven't heard such whining & such a quitter attitude since Flo.
It will irritate me to no end if he were to win!
"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by Starshine on 11-29-10 at 11:40 AM
Ah Flo Happy Days.

I would like Vicki to win, she seems the most likeable person in the race.

"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by moonbaby on 11-29-10 at 02:23 PM
Slap: Nick

Slap: Nick

Slap: Nick one more time.

"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by ARnutz on 11-29-10 at 04:15 PM
*stands in line behind Moonie waiting*

OK! My turn!!!

Slap: Nick

Slap: Nick

Slap: Nick one more time.

"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by Starshine on 11-29-10 at 04:28 PM
OK while you two enjoy yourselves I will take Vicki out for sushi a meal
"Line forms here"
Posted by jbug on 11-29-10 at 05:16 PM
"RE: Line forms here"
Posted by Nume on 11-29-10 at 07:34 PM
B****slap Nick, followed by a strong kick to the groin...
"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by MaryKat on 11-30-10 at 09:50 AM
I want to slap Nick too. There have been several teams that we love one member and hated the other. I would like to see a race made up of loved racers without their hated partners.
"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by kidflash212 on 11-29-10 at 03:21 PM
LAST EDITED ON 11-29-10 AT 03:22 PM (EST)

Slap - In advance for the next leg. No matter what happens the leg is unlikely to be enjoyable as either Nick & Vicki will be so hopelessly far behind that there is no suspense or there will be a bunching which renders their penalty moot.

"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by TARFAN76 on 11-29-10 at 03:47 PM
Looked like Vickie WAS racing alone last night while he was sleeping.
"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by jbug on 11-29-10 at 04:06 PM
SLAP: Nick - for sleeping during the detour when you should have been helping. If you were so tired why didn't you sleep during the Roadblock since during that task you were useless (& good for nothing) anyway?
"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by realworld10 on 11-29-10 at 06:27 PM
LAST EDITED ON 11-29-10 AT 06:29 PM (EST)

Clap - Nat & Kat, Claire & Brooke - two totally different teams with one thing in common - they support each other without hysteronics - they just play the game.

Slap - bunching points - sort of feel bad for Thomas & Jill - very large lead snapped just like that

Clap for the whole season - showing different places in the world that I will never see - but still get to enjoy with this program

Slap - Nick - sorry just had to add it to the list

"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by Max Headroom on 11-29-10 at 06:30 PM
LAST EDITED ON 11-29-10 AT 06:31 PM (EST)

Disclaimer: I've been to Hong Kong several times and it's one of my favorite cities in the world. My last trip there was 5 years ago, and I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Slap For reusing the same video footage of the Star Ferry (green on bottom, white on top) while discussing Cheung Chau ferries (orange and much larger).

Slap The Jumbo floating restaurant is a Hong Kong Island landmark; why do the roadblock at some nondescript restaurant in Kowloon? If you must choose Kowloon, I recommend Jimmy's Kitchen

Slap For the giant bunch point between Dhaka and Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a regional hub with an enormous world-class airport served by many carriers, yet there was only one routing out of Dhaka?

Slap Echoing Estee's comments about room-temperature sushi. Judging by the onlookers exiting and the staff cleaning up the tables, it must've been very late by the time Vicki finished.

Clap For going back to Hong Kong.

"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by Estee on 11-29-10 at 07:07 PM
Great spot on the Star Ferry recycling. There wasn't a single camera operator available to shoot from the outside for three seconds?

As for Jumbo, it probably came down to a money issue with a side order of 'And we have to hand the entire place over to you for how long? Plus the whole world will believe our real food can't be distinguished from the fake? And they'll be asking about our warm sushi special?' Pass.

"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by Starshine on 11-29-10 at 07:33 PM
I noticed a race flag when one of the teams was booking flights so I suspect that it was a race fixed bunch point.

Looking at Expedia there don't seem to be direct flights, but there do seem to be quicker ones, however some countries may have rules about people passing through which would prevent teams using them.

Lovely cheese Mooney

Just another Sleeperbloke


"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by Molaholic on 11-29-10 at 11:44 PM
Slap - Production folks couldn't afford real zip-top envelope clues after the Detour? (and why would the parakeet recipients need a whole pad of clues?)

Slap - Yea, 6-hour penalty, so why not have it an NEL?

Clap - Dingding.

Slap - Poor old Native Greeter got short-shrift once again.


Seana, mistress of siggies 2010

"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by samboohoo on 12-01-10 at 10:42 AM
I noticed the pad of clues as well.


Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie


"RE: Hong Kong"
Posted by featherfish81 on 12-04-10 at 01:48 AM
Slap for chasing the racers into the bathroom so we could hear them puke. Because who doesn't love to hear other people puking?

I hadn't thought about the warm seafood, but you're right, that would have been even grosser, and riskier since some of it definitely looked raw.

"South Korea"
Posted by BrassFan on 12-06-10 at 10:48 AM
SLAP Ok..it's a small slap at the entire season so far...but, ANOTHER needle in a haystack challenge? How many have we seen this season? A moment's thought reminds me of the Genie Lamps, The Film Footage, The Fake Food, The Parakeets, The Signs in the Streets of Hong Kong, and the Headbands.
"RE: South Korea"
Posted by Molaholic on 12-06-10 at 10:57 AM
SLAP - Nick & Vick being lead down the primrose path. They had to do the Speed Bump well after dark when the other three teams had checked-in in sunshine.

SLAP - All of us being lead down the primrose path. "Drive to this bridge at the border - warning do not cross the border." But then they do a river-raft on the same river that the bridge crosses -- but they implied that the river was the border!

CLAP - Claire falling on her tookas multiple times.

"RE: South Korea"
Posted by jbug on 12-06-10 at 11:05 AM
LAST EDITED ON 12-06-10 AT 11:08 AM (EST)

SLAP: Brooke: can't you shut up for even 1 minute?
and? you were disrespectful to our men & women in uniform. Do you have to act like a silly school girl all the time?

SLAP: Claire: Do you have nothing at all to say?

DOUBLE SLAP: Racers or Production:
Did any of the racers say thank you to any of the soldiers for their service?
or did they and production decide not to show us?

"RE: South Korea"
Posted by HistoryDetective on 12-06-10 at 05:06 PM
What did Brooke do that was supposedly so disrespectful?

DOUBLE SLAP (x4): Soldiers or Production:
Did any of the soldiers say thank you to either of the doctors for saving lives?
or did they and production decided not to show us?

Did any of the soldiers say thank you to either of the home shopping hosts for the entertainment, goods, and services they provide?
or did they and production decided not to show us?

Did any of the soldiers say thank you to Jill for styling hair or thank you to Thomas for selling advertisements, both of them contributing to our economy?
or did they and production decided not to show us?

Did any of the soldiers say thank you to Nick for tending bar or thank you to Vicki for styling hair, both of them contributing to our economy?
or did they and production decided not to show us?

"RE: South Korea"
Posted by jbug on 12-06-10 at 08:21 PM
Being the wife of a veteran
and the daughter of a veteran
and the grand daughter of a veteran
and the sister in law of several veterans
and the cousin of several veterans,

I try to say thank you to men & women in military uniform whenever I can. What they do or did deserves more thanks than anything anyone else does. IMO

Maybe Brooke wasn't really disrespectful; I just don't like her silliness. There's nothing wrong with having fun, but ....
oh well, to each his own.

"RE: South Korea"
Posted by HistoryDetective on 12-07-10 at 08:56 AM
It looks like we both have a lot of veterans in our family trees, not that it matters one way or another.

It's great that you say thank you to members of the armed services whenever you have a chance --- but a thank you that is obligatory, as you suggested that it should have been for the Racers in this episode, becomes meaningless (much like those AIDS ribbons that celebrities wore in the 1990s or the flag pins that politicians wore in the 2008 campaign). Being required or expected to speak certain words to a certain class of people whenever encountering them goes against the nature of freedom itself. So, say thank you as much as you wish (especially since your expression of gratitude will be authentic and sincere), but please do not suggest that those who do not, such as these Racers, have somehow behaved inappropriately.

As for the production team, they presented the various tasks involved in this leg of the Race. The purpose of the Race is not to promote the military or to inculcate Americanism in viewers. They were also under no obligation to include a thank you scene.

"RE: South Korea"
Posted by Estee on 12-06-10 at 01:54 PM
Slap If you give the entire field a choice between collecting a few dozen bruises each or calmly walking around delivering packages only to have every last one of them yell 'Injuries! That's for us!', then the fear of delivery tasks has gotten a little too high.

Clap How do we ensure Racer safety that close to the border? Throwing them into the middle of an Army base should do it...

Slap (another producing target) This isn't main Production's fault, but it bears mentioning. Y'know those little 'learn more about the country' spots we've been getting from an outside agency? And do you remember how Phil said The Temple Of Heaven was built by the one and only Emperor of Korea. Wasn't that a statement which sort of begged for detail? And what did we get from the outside agency? Season In Review. Nice timing.

Slap Way to play up the drama of the Roadblock when there wasn't any. I don't think we had a single Racer do so much as twitch.

No hand movement The arena fog was the fault of the arena owners.

Clap/Slap On the one hand, I'm glad you showed us what the Speed Bump had been. On the other, this isn't exactly an unfamiliar category for the extra task. Here's something big: go clean it. Gee, it's not as if we haven't done this a million times before. Twenty, tops. (Still better than throwing coins, though.)

Slap Repeating the exact same shot of the clue with two different teams.

Clap And thank you for not wasting more than a few seconds pretending that Brooke & Claire's taxi error might allow Vicki to catch up.

Yes, I'm aware I left Nick out.

"I got it"
Posted by moonbaby on 12-06-10 at 08:14 PM
Slap Nick. Can't resist a parting shot to someone so richly deserving.
"RE: South Korea"
Posted by Max Headroom on 12-06-10 at 01:54 PM
Clap For not having a bunch point to let Nick and Vicki back into the race (though I think they tried).

"RE: South Korea"
Posted by featherfish81 on 12-06-10 at 10:40 PM
Slap Out of all the places in South Korea to take the contestants, you chose the DEMILITARIZED ZONE??? I wonder where the backup location was in case tensions were high again. I'm not an overly cautious person, and I know that most of the time its safe there, but its not exactly out of the question that tensions were high again and it could be dangerous to have Americans near North Korea.
"RE: South Korea"
Posted by kidflash212 on 12-07-10 at 09:50 AM
"SLAP Ok..it's a small slap at the entire season so far...but, ANOTHER needle in a haystack challenge? How many
have we seen this season? A moment's thought reminds me of the Genie Lamps, The Film Footage, The Fake Food, The Parakeets, The Signs in the Streets of Hong Kong, and the Headbands."

I think there is a reason for that. I felt from the beginning, the producers wanted an all female team to win. They cast four all female teams in great physical shape, the all male teams that were cast were not Alpha Male types, two were unathletic geeks, Michael was older and Ron or Tony (sorry they left so quickly I don't recall who was who) was very overweight. And it seems they chose fewer tasks that required physical strength this season choosing the needle-in-a-haystack type challenge over the carry a hundred 60lb bags of flour type challenge.



Capn2patch put me in motion!

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by HistoryDetective on 12-07-10 at 09:53 AM
Swoop block?

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Starshine on 12-07-10 at 10:06 AM
Clap - Well played
"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Estee on 12-07-10 at 10:22 AM
Did you thank the swoop for letting you block it?
"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Max Headroom on 12-07-10 at 11:22 AM
LAST EDITED ON 12-07-10 AT 11:24 AM (EST)

Slap Swoops and swoop blocks are only done in OT, not in other forums.

Edit: kidflash gets a slap too.

to both of you

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by Molaholic on 12-07-10 at 11:40 AM
Slap Swoops and swoop blocks are only done in OT, not in other forums.

Are **GIGGLESNORT**s allowed in non-OT forums?

because I don't want to break any rules, just in cast the **GIGGLESNORT** police are about

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by HistoryDetective on 12-07-10 at 12:24 PM
*hangs head in contrition*

I know, I know. I realized after I made the post that I broke the unwritten rule. I was just so excited to see anything outside of OT go into triple digits that I lost my head.

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by olathejoe on 12-07-10 at 03:37 PM
What the heck is swoop, swoop block and what is the OT?
"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by qwertypie on 12-07-10 at 05:05 PM
<---------- Look on the left hand side blue stripe. Click on Off topic. WARNING PROCEED AT YOUR OWN PERIL

"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by jbug on 12-08-10 at 10:26 AM

reeling in another one
"RE: Production: claps & slaps"
Posted by byoffer on 12-08-10 at 11:52 AM
WARNING PROCEED AT YOUR OWN PERIL

That is likely the most likely way to guaranty that someone will go snooping to see what OT is.


Gawd knows it worked on me 5 years ago!

"Los Angeles."
Posted by Estee on 12-13-10 at 09:29 AM
Slap The Katy Perry soundtrack? Epic. Fail. You could have run a Perry Cox number in honor of Thomas and his Ego, and it would have come across as less of an anvil-dropping. (This isn't a statement against her music, BTW -- just that it was pretty much being forced down our throats.)

Clap Bob Eubanks!

Slap ...who just stood there. You got Bob Eubanks and you had him just stand there. How about a little patter? A bit of interaction? Some borrowed Barker stretch-it-out torture? Anything at all?

Slap Can we get out of Los Angeles for a while, please? Three years ought to do it.

Clap I appreciate giving real clues to a destination -- even if the Racers first and only reaction is 'Think? Remember? Education? Internet!' That none of these people seem to have been awake in ninth grade is their slap, not yours.

Slap Too much camera time wasted at the cranes -- and the theme of 'go to a high place, get the clue, and come back down' pretty much took over the season.

Slap No Detour? Oh, right -- too much camera time wasted at the cranes.

Clap Having yet another final challenge turn out to be a memory game should really be a slap -- but making the native greeters as the focus subject was a minor touch of brilliance. Oh, and again: nice hats.

No Hand Movement Unfinished Business? We'll see...

"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by Molaholic on 12-13-10 at 11:06 AM
Clap - Taxi Driver from Hell in L.A.

Slap - What? No Kiss for Bob???

Slap - They drove oh-so-close by my school site and didn't stop for a visit?

Slap - They lied about the Rose Parade Float decorating. The work they did (in what, August?) will be long dead come January first. (I've done Rose Float decorating, it starts in min-November).

No Hand Movement - TAR Fan Favorites? Or will it be Freaks and Geeks?

"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by samboohoo on 12-13-10 at 11:27 AM
I too wondered about the float decorations.

I still don't like taxi cab driver luck - especially in the final leg. I would rather the teams be more responsible for the outcome.


Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie


"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by samboohoo on 12-13-10 at 11:12 AM
I too wondered about the detour and just wondered if we got a very edited version of TAR. It was very quick. And Phil made mention to Jill and Thomas about all of the mistakes they made during the day. We weren't showed very many, especially since the actual cab driver wasn't a mistake on their part but rather bad luck.


Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie


"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by Nume on 12-13-10 at 06:56 PM
They did make the decision to try to convince him to call someone or whatever rather than doing what Brook/Claire did and just ask to go to a hotel/computer center to find the answers themselves.
"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by qwertypie on 12-13-10 at 08:21 PM
But he had a GPS
"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by qwertypie on 12-13-10 at 03:02 PM
Clap Production crew for 'accidently' sticking Jill and Thomas with the defective cab.
Slap Casting - Can you please find a youngish non-abusive male in a dating relationship? I am sure they still must exist somewhere.
"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by PsychoKitty on 12-13-10 at 09:20 PM
Thank you for saying that qwertypie! I was thinking similar thoughts during the post mat interviews when Stephanie crowed about her great trip with Chad, and will be able to tell their children and grandchildren about the great experience they had on the race - blah, blah, blah. And I thought - yes, relive those wonderful moments when he was yelling at you and sulking. And all of us had the joy of watching it! What a stupid woman . . . apparently already married and pregnant by this loser.

Run away Jill AND Stephanie! And yes - Production: Get us some "healthy" couples!


Not that I have an opinion one way or another ;)
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"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by qwertypie on 12-14-10 at 03:27 AM
And don't forget Vicki.
"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by Max Headroom on 12-13-10 at 10:04 PM
Slap For having the teams ride around LA in taxis. This happens over and over in the finale episodes and somebody always gets jobbed due to a bad taxi driver. Give them rental cars and make them drive!
"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by moonbaby on 12-13-10 at 11:20 PM
Slap for the usual suspect. Can't wait to see him again

"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by Colonel Zoidberg on 12-14-10 at 08:45 AM
Slap Agreed on Katy Perry - not so much because she's a no-talent hack whose music is popular simply because it's annoyingly catchy, but since they did the same thing in TAR15.

Clap It's about damn time they went to HD for next season. We need the entire width of the screen to fit Big Easy's big ego.

Slap Please no more L.A. Go to Boise, Idaho or some place before going back to L.A. Though I was hoping that Jill and Thomas' cab driver would end up in South Central and they would have to ask NaOnka for directions. Then I remembered that she doesn't need any more face time, no matter how hilarious the results.

"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by Estee on 12-14-10 at 08:56 AM
But why not try to showcase what could potentially be Na'Onka's one and only skill? You'd almost have to think that if there's anything she might be good at, it's telling people where to go.
"RE: Los Angeles."
Posted by PsychoKitty on 12-14-10 at 06:00 PM
CLAP! Estee! Good one! ;)


Not that I have an opinion one way or another ;)
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